Amidst the full-scale war and with production facilities located in the eastern region of the country, in 2023 the VESCO Group of Companies in Ukraine still lived up to its production plans and maintained its financial stability. Due to the prompt restructuring of its logistics, the Group continued shipping products to the international market. The Group’s enterprises also fully met the needs of local consumers.
In 2023, the VESCO Group’s tax contributions to Ukrainian budgets of all levels amounted to 155.5 million UAH with 20.3 million UAH paid to the state budget, while 135.2 million UAH landed in local budgets. For some eastern communities the VESCO Group in Ukraine remains a major tax revenue contributor, as well as a responsible neighbor, and a reliable employer. A remarkable achievement was the increase in wages for all staff categories by an average of 14% effective May 1, 2023.
Last year, more lands were transferred back to lessors after completing all stages of reclamation, including the restoration of soil fertility and vegetation cover after mining operations. In particular, 108 hectares of reclaimed lands were returned to the Shakhivska community of Pokrovsk district in 2023, including 95 hectares of pastures and 13.1 hectares of forest plantations. Over previous years, restoration of this area cost 56.5 million UAH in total.
“In the second year of the war, the VESCO Group’s facilities in Ukraine operated at a low capacity utilization rate and under permanent threat. Yet we have learned how to survive in such conditions. Due to this, in 2023, the production did not stop, and, as a result, the volumes of ceramic raw materials being burdened and shipped were sufficient to fully cover production needs. Partner relations with our customers were not affected. The main capital investments of 44.5 million UAH last year were aimed at maintaining open wagons and locomotives used to supply products to customers, mostly in Europe, as well as partial modernisation of mining equipment,” says Yevhen Tsymarman, CEO of the VESCO Group of Companies in Ukraine. “We anticipate that the situation will be better in 2024. Weβve got plans for relaunching mining operations. Our preliminarily forecast is a twofold increase in sales compared to last year, as we focus on the best-case scenario for the battlefield and believe in victory.”
The saddest events of the past year for the Group were enemy strikes hitting production infrastructure, one of which killed two employees. The Group’s enterprises also suffered significant losses due to the destruction of production facilities and equipment.
“The war in Ukraine and, as a result, regular shelling of the eastern region have inflicted serious losses on the VESCO Group of Companies in Ukraine. The most deplorable loss is the lives of two employees. We provided all possible assistance to the families of the victims and implemented additional measures to protect employees at workplaces from enemy attacks,” comments Yevhen Tsymarman, CEO of the VESCO Group of Companies in Ukraine. “Chasivoyarskyi Refractory Plant (βChasivoyarskyi Vognetryvkyi Kombinatβ) ended up in an active combat zone.”
Last year, the VESCO Group of Companies in Ukraine provided charitable aid worth 344,500 UAH within the geographical range of its production facilities. Additionally, over 3.3 million UAH in goods or services were donated to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense forces, and communities in order to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and effectively counter the enemy. In particular, 31 units of the Group’s special equipment are in use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
